"Sometimes, breaking news is spectacularly unsurprising — but still hugely consequential.
That was the case Tuesday, when California officials finalized a decision they’d been telegraphing for months, voting to extend the life of three gas-fired power plants along the state’s southern coast through 2026, instead of closing them later this year.
The gas plants pollute the air breathed by nearby residents and help fuel the climate crisis. But Gov. Gavin Newsom’s appointees concluded we still need them — at least for a few more years — to avoid blackouts that could strand millions of people without air conditioning during brutal heat waves and endanger Californians who depend on medical devices powered by electricity.
E. Joaquin Esquivel, who chairs the State Water Resources Control Board, said he identified with “the frustration and the pain” of people who said allowing the gas plants to keep running would harm members of their communities vulnerable to air pollution."
Sammy Roth reports for the Los Angeles Times August 15, 2023.
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